Beverage and other fluid reconstitution device

ABSTRACT

The device outlined is a mixing device which allows precision mixing of concentrates with other fluids. It is inexpensive and has wide application in providing consumers reconstituted beverages from solid or liquid concentrates of all kinds for consumption without the use of conventional cans or bottles, and offers medical and industrial uses as well with fluids and gasses. It is anticipated that it will create an entire new class of fluid dispensing products.

[0001] This application is filed with reference to the provisional patent application 60/367,290.

[0002] There is no federally sponsored aspect of this application.

PRIOR ART

[0003] The need for a method of providing consumers with more efficient storage and dispensing of beverages and other types of liquids than the bulky cans and bottles currently used is made even more desirable by a need to eliminate the large volume of discarded bottles and cans which litter much of the countryside. In addition, there is a need for a general purpose device which provides the mixing of many types of concentrates with various types of fluids at predetermined concentrations which is compact, inexpensive and accurate.

[0004] Two patents are cited as prior art:

[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,538 Villani, et al. Flavoring delivery drinking straw

[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 6,333,050 Wong, et al. Oral delivery of discrete units

[0007] Neither of these two patents nor any others discovered operate using the pressure differentials within the mechanism outlined in this application. (Use of Bernoulli's principle). The basic operation of all previous delivery mechanisms (insofar as information is available) has been uncontrolled delivery by simple dissolving of the concentrate as fluid passes by, or by injection of a concentrate directly into a fluid stream without the diluent passing into the concentrate chamber using the pressure differential of the Bernoulli Principle. An example of the concentrate passing directly into the diluent is a simple external mix paint sprayer. The combination of the Bernoulli pressure differential across a barrier to move variable amounts of diluent fluids through concentrates is believed to be a unique mixing method.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] This invention teaches a method for construction of a device which contains concentrated ingredients for any of a large number of beverage types or other types of fluid, and which can be easily stored in an extremely small volume compared to the bulky containers now utilized. This device operates on the principle that the device outlined in this application automatically mixes, according to a preset ratio, concentrated ingredients contained in one part of the device with water or other liquid or gas supplied by the user as the beverage or other fluid is reconstituted from concentrate.

[0009] The device is very inexpensive and if disposed of represents only a small portion of the container waste currently generated. In addition, the components may be made from biodegradable materials that are far more environmentally friendly than the aluminum cans, glass and plastic bottles, which are presently used for beverages and many other applications. Shipping costs are minimized and consumers may carry a large number of their favorite drinks in these containers even in their pocket! Both civilian and military personnel will appreciate the wide range of drinks available using this technology.

[0010] Since the device may be made in a shape somewhat similar to that of a drinking straw, and yet (in the case of beverages) can meter out its ingredients as the user either drinks from it or forces water or other liquid through it to reconstitute the beverage in a container it is efficient and low cost as well as environmentally friendly.

[0011] Applications include cold fruit drinks and milk using water as a reconstituting agent; Tea of many types, coffee, and other hot beverages created from solid or liquid concentrate and hot water; Soda of many flavors created using concentrate and carbonated water and even alcoholic beverages using a controlled percentage of alcohol mix for reconstitution are among the many possibilities available. (In the case of alcoholic drinks, alcohol content may be controlled to help control drunken driving and other problems.) A part of the invention contemplates innovative containers for holding the fluids used for reconstitution. Because the user can control the liquid used to reconstitute the beverage, water purity and other parameters are now under control of the user.

[0012] The same desirable qualities may be used to dilute various industrial and medical diluents of many types with concentrated materials contained in the type of container outlined. An example of an application in a non-food use would be a device containing a measured amount of fertilizer or insecticide which could be purchased, attached to a garden hose, and used to meter out a correct amount of chemical to the lawn eliminating messy containers and the incorrect levels of deposition on the ground currently caused by present systems. An application in the medical field would be to dissolve drugs in a fluid stream to be introduced into the body in various ways. An example of this embodiment would be mixing prescription drugs with flavored concentrates in “straws” to administer these medications to children instead of using tablets or other distasteful methods. This invention offers convenience, safety, and savings in materials along with ease of recycling and disposal.

DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

[0013] The device is explained in part by Figure One:

[0014] In one embodiment the invention consists of a tubular device (1) which operates similar to a drinking straw like tube which the user may use to draw the fluid used to reconstitute the beverage into the mouth in a manner similar to normal drinking straws. This tube is surrounded by, or attached to, a small reservoir (2) mounted on the straw like device, which contains the concentrated powder or fluid (3), used to reconstitute the beverage to regular concentration. The reconstituting liquid may also contain necessary ingredients that cannot be contained in the reservoir.

[0015] The reservoir contains two openings (4) and (5) connecting to the tubular device, one on either side of a partial obstruction (6) of the tube. This creates a pressure difference when fluid flow occurs in the tube as shown using the Bernoulli Principle. The pressure difference allows a metered amount of the reconstituting fluid to exit the main tube at one opening and reenter the tube at the second opening after passing through the concentrated beverage material. By controlling the diameter of the openings and flow paths in the reservoir and providing different flow conditions for different powder d and solid concentrates, it is possible to accurately reconstitute the original mixed beverage without undue concern for the rate at which reconstituting fluid is drawn from the container as the pressure difference increases with increased flow through the straw like tube, increasing the rate at which the concentrate is dissolved in the diluent. Thus the concentrate is dissolved more rapidly by an increased flow and the concentrate mixing ratios are maintained correctly regardless of flow without interposing the concentrate in the main tube itself leading to incorrect mixing ratios.

[0016] It can be seen that this invention is not limited only to drink dispensing, but may have application in other embodiments wherein any concentrate must be mixed with a diluent. Applications such as industrial, medical, and other methods of using a variable flow dilution of either solid or liquid concentrates are also contemplated in this invention.

[0017] In a production scenario, one embodiment may consist of the reconstitution device and two short straw-like pieces that may be packaged with the device and inserted into the device by the user for drinking as shown in (7).

[0018] There are times when the beverage may be reconstituted in a container for normal consumption by drinking from a glass. In this case, fluid may be forced through the device under pressure from a reservoir and the drink or other fluid may be reconstituted in a cup or other container placed at the other end.

[0019] Figure Two outlines methods of packaging the concentrate to help insure that it dissolves evenly with time as fluid flows through it and that the mixed fluid is controlled in location and strength. (8) shows the concentrate encased in a flat container which may be a circular (as shown in the figure) tea-bag like container where fluid passes through the contents and into the “straw” while preventing small pieces of the concentrate from plugging the opening (9) returning the concentrate fluid to the main fluid stream. This embodiment is particularly useful for finely pulverized herbal based drinks such as tea and granular concentrates.

[0020] It is also understood that many other embodiments may be created adapted to the characteristics of a particular material for controlled dispersion which do not depart from the disclosed dispersion principles based on pressure differences in the concentrate chamber which do not depart from the use of Bernoulli's principle taught by this invention.

[0021] (10) shows a solid tubular cylinder of concentrate which is mounted in a manner to allow the reconstituting fluid to flow through the “core” which is formed to provide a large but constant area surface to allow rapid dissolving of the concentrate at a constant rate from initial wetting to final dissolving. This embodiment is particularly useful where a concentrate which dissolves too quickly for packaging in a bag like container must be used.

[0022] Figure Three shows an embodiment of the invention which contains a check valve (1) which opens when fluid is drawn through the invention from bottom to top and closes when fluid attempts to flow in the reverse direction. This prevents partially mixed fluid from returning to the diluent container. Numbers (2) and (3) represent variable diameter openings which may be positioned by the user to control the rate of flow into the concentrate chamber for various rates of flow of the diluent, thereby giving the user control over the concentration of the beverage or other mixture. In the embodiment outlined, the upper portion of the device (4) may be slid up or down to change the concentration of the fluid. (5) represents the chamber holding the concentrate which is able to move with respect to the central tube (4) to position the holes (2) and (3) as needed for variable concentration control. (6) represents the obstruction in the fluid channel which allows the difference in pressure between the upper holes and lower holes which causes flow through the concentrate chamber entering and exiting through lower and upper holes (3). 

I claim:
 1. A device which allows one substance to be mixed with another substance to dilute the second substance where the dilution is caused by the imposition of a barrier contained in a tube in which the diluting fluid flows; and this barrier is perforated by one or more openings which, as the diluting fluid flows through the openings, create a pressure differential between the barrier sides; and this pressure differential is used by openings in the tube to cause a portion of the diluent to flow outside of the main tube and through a concentrated material which it is desired to dilute into the main fluid; and the fluid flowing through this concentrate exits the holes on the higher pressure side of the partial barrier in the main tube and reenters the other side of the barrier at lower pressure where it mixes with the main fluid stream to the desired concentration.
 2. A device which allows a concentrated material to be diluted with the dilution method used in claim One which provides a means of preparing drinks of various types for consumption.
 3. A method of containing the concentrated material as in claim One in a bag like container which is contained in a chamber in the drinking device where it can be mixed with a diluent.
 4. A method of forming the concentrate into a shape or shapes which will dissolve evenly as diluent passes over them so that the desired concentration is maintained throughout the dilution process.
 5. A method of manufacture and packaging which allows the chamber containing the concentrate to be packaged with one or more straw like tubes which when attached to the concentrate chamber allow the user to draw the liquid into the mouth in a conventional manner similar to a conventional drinking straw.
 6. The use of various types of diluents containing one or more substances, which when combined with the concentrate create a wide range of drinks including fruit, carbonated, teas, coffees, and alcoholic beverages.
 7. A container which can pass diluent through the concentrate chamber and device according to the principles of claim One and into another container which may be used to contain the reconstituted fluid.
 8. The use of the device outlined in claim One for dilution of industrial and medical materials such as chemicals and medications which may require that an additional material be dissolved in a liquid solvent.
 9. An application of claim One which allows a solid or finely divided liquid material to be substituted for the concentrate and where the diluent is an air or other gas stream wherein granular particles or finely divided liquid drops are introduced into the gas stream and carried along with the gas for industrial or medical purposes using the same principles.
 10. An application of claim One which creates a device which may be attached to hoses of various types and which disperses a chemical or other material into a liquid or gaseous stream as directed by an operator.
 11. An application of claim One wherein a check valve is interposed in the drink dispenser to prevent the fluid contained in the mixing device from passing back to the diluent reservoir.
 12. An application of claim One wherein adjustable diameter openings are positioned at the inlet and outlet of the concentrate chamber to allow the user to change the concentration of output diluent versus the pressure differential at the entry and exit chamber. 